Quick-release, self-locking hook

ABSTRACT

This quick-release, self-locking type hook is attached to a buoy which is connected to an embedded anchor by a heavy chain or wire rope. This invention is directed to a self-locking capability to eliminate the necessity of human intervention in the locking process. This is accomplished by providing a locking keeper being pivotable for full 360*.

United States Patent Mayo [ 51 Apr. 4, 1972 541 QUICK-RELEASE,SELF-LOCKING HOOK [72] Inventor: Henry C. Mayo, Fairfax County, Va.

[73] Assignee: The United S'Iates of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army [22] Filed: Jan.2l, 1970 [21] Appl.N0.: 4,659

[52] U.S. Cl ..24/24l, 24/241 SB, 24/211 F [51] [58] Field of Search ..24/241; 294/83 1,747,128 2/1930 OBannon ..24/241 SP 3,193,318 7/1965 Guerrant ..294/83 3,213,508 10/1965 Vigerhed ..24/2l1 P Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward J. Kelly, Herbert Berl and Glenn S. Ovrevik [57] ABSTRACT This quick-release, self-locking type hook is attached to a buoy which is connected to an embedded anchor by a heavy chainor wire rope. This invention is directed to a self-locking capability to eliminate the necessity of human intervention in the locking process. This is accomplished by providing a locking keeper being pivotable for full 360.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures BUOY SURFACE (HORIZONTAL) PATENTEDAPR 41912 INVENTOR HENRY C. MAYO QUICK-RELEASE, SELF-LOCKING HOOK GOVERNMENT USE The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

PERTINENT PRIOR ART This invention is an improvement over the invention of William S. Guerrant, Jr., for a quick-release, locking-type hood, U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,318, July 6, 1965. The Guerrant hook requires a pre-setting of keeper, manually rotating keeper to lockable position after mooring hawser or cable is inserted in the hook, raising of saddle to permit locking of keeper, and returning saddle to the closed position with the keeper entering a securing means. All of those manual operations are eliminated by the structure of my invention so that the keeper is set and locked without manual assistance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a mooring hook which is mounted on a buoy for offshore mooring. The base of the hook is normally in a horizontal position so that the hook is always in an upward position readily available to receive and secure a mooring hawser or cable without the necessity of having a human on the buoy. A keeper is pivoted to a saddle which, in turn, is pivoted to the hook. The keeper is free to move 360 except when the saddle is fully closed (at rest on the base member) and a locking lug limits such rotation to assure that the mooring line will be retained within the saddle. The keeper is normally in a vertical position and is maintained therein by the force of gravity. The pivot of the keeper is positioned in the saddle a distance from the saddle-to-hook pivot greater than the length of the keeper so as to enable full rotation thereof. The saddle has a lanyard-release arm extending therefrom so that the hook can be released using a lanyard or boat hook.

By this invention, it is no longer necessary for human involvement in the securing of a mooring cable on a buoymounted mooring book. The dangers inherent in placing a man on a buoy in turbulent waters and the dangers of operating a craft in the vicinity of a buoy and using boat hooks have been eliminated. A simple pass during which the mooring cable is inserted in the grasp hook reduces the time to a matter of seconds as opposed to treacherous minutes in the devices before my invention.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a quick-release self-locking mooring hook.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mooring hook in which the keeper is free to move when the mooring cable is inserted in the grasp of the hook and is then maintained in a locked position. Still another object of this invention is to provide a mooring hook which requires no operator in the locking process. A further object of this invention is to provide a quick-release mooring hook which will accept and secure a mooring cable delivered to the vicinity of the opening therein.

The above and still further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the mooring book of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a top view of the structure shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 1, the quick-release, self-locking type hook consists of lanyard-release arm 1, release-saddle pivotpin 2, base member 3, keeper 4, locking lug 5, keeper pivotpin 6, eye 9, release-saddle 10, slot 11, and slot 12.

The basic structural portion of the hook is the .l-shaped base member 3. The release-saddle 10 is attached to the base member 3 by the release-saddle pivot-pin 2. The lanyardrelease arm 1 is an integral part of the release-saddle 10 and is used to rotate the release-saddle 10 relative to the base member 3 about the release-saddle pivot-pin 2. The lanyard 8 is used to actuate the lanyard-release arm 1. When the releasesaddle 10 is in a position engaging the base member 3 (the closed position of the hook), the keeper 4 is restrained from clockwise rotation by the locking lug 5. The locking lug 5 is an integral part of the base member 3 and protrudes upward through slot 12 in the release-saddle 10. The vertical orientation of the keeper 4 is maintained by the force of gravity. When the release-saddle 10 is not in a position engaging the base member 3 (open or releasing position of the hook), the keeper 4 may be rotated 360 in either direction, passing through slot 11. The eye 9 provides a means for attaching the hook to a mooring buoy.

OPERATION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THIS INVENTION For operation, the hook is secured to a fixture on the horizontal top surface of a mooring buoy by the eye 9 in a manner such that the keeper 4 is essentially vertical and the lower part of the base member 3 is essentially horizontal. That is, the keeper 4 is essentially vertical by action of gravity when the hook is in the closed position with the release-saddle l0 engaged with the base member 3. When a ship or boat approaches the buoy, it may lower the eye (or a bight) of the mooring hawser 7 into the hook. The action of the hawser 7 entering the hook will rotate the keeper 4 counterclockwise until the hawser 7 reaches the end of its travel at the innermost portion of the hook. At this time the hawser 7 passes under the keeper 4, allowing the force of gravity to rotate the keeper 4 clockwise until its motion is stopped by the locking lug 5. and automatically locking the hawser 7 in the hook.

To release the mooring hawser 7, a lanyard 8 or boat hook is used to apply a pulling force to lanyard release arm 1 and pivot the release-saddle pivot-pin 2 in a clockwise direction until first the keeper 4 is no longer restrained by the locking lug 5, and then further until the mooring hawser 7 slips out of the hook.

To return the mooring hook to the closed position, a boat hook is used to push the lanyard release arm 1 in a counterclockwise fashion until the release-saddle 10 is engaged with the base member 3. During this operation the keeper 4 remains vertical and assures a position on the inside of the locking lug 5. Thus, when the hook is returned to the closed position, it is automatically set to accept and secure a mooring hawser.

So it is seen that l have provided a quick-release mooring hook that gives the added capability of receiving the mooring cable and automatically securing it within the hook. The reduction of hazards that is accomplished thereby fulfills a long recognized need.

While I have described and illustrated one specific embodiment of my invention, it will be clear that variations of the details of construction which are specifically illustrated and described may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

l. A quick-release locking sea vessel mooring hook for securing a mooring cable of a sea vessel to a mooring buoy comprising:

a substantially .l-shaped base member having a substantially straight portion and a substantially curved portion, connecting eye means at the distal end of said substantially straight portion of said base member,

said connecting eye means adapted to secure said distal end to the buoy such that said straight portion of said base member is disposed in an essentially horizontal plane and said curved portion of said base member disposed in an essentially vertical plane above said horizontal plane,

a substantially U-shaped release saddle adapted to pivot about a midpoint of one of the two straight sections thereof and pivotally connected to the distal end of said curved portion of said base member to turn about a horizontal axis, to move substantially in said vertical plane, and to normally rest on said substantially straight portion of said base member,

a lanyard release arm rigidly affixed to and extending inwardly of the hook from the free end of the other straight section of said release saddle,

a keeper pivotally mounted at the free end of the first said straight section of said release saddle, distally of said pivotal connection, said keeper adapted to substantially close the opening and to move freely between said release saddle and said base member in substantially the same plane as said release saddle,

said release saddle being slotted to permit 360rotation of said keeper about said pivotal connection,

and a locking lug mounted on the inner side of said substantially straight portion of said base member and so configured and disposed as to limit the rotation of said keeper when the release saddle rests on said substantially straight portion of said base member and to release said keeper when said saddle is rotated away from said substantially straight portion of said base member. 

1. A quick-release locking sea vessel mooring hook for securing a mooring cable of a sea vessel to a mooring buoy comprising: a substantially J-shaped base member having a substantially straight portion and a substantially curved portion, connecting eye means at the distal end of said substantially straight portion of said base member, said connecting eye means adapted to secure said distal end to the buoy such that said straight portion of said base member is disposed in an essentially horizontal plane and said curved portion of said base member disposed in an essentially vertical plane above said horizontal plane, a substantially U-shaped release saddle adapted to pivot about a midpoint of one of the two straight sections thereof and pivotally connected to the distal end of said curved portion of said base member to turn about a horizontal axis, to move substantially in said vertical plane, and to normally rest on said substantially straight portion of said base member, a lanyard release arm rigidly affixed to and extending inwardly of the hook from the free end of the other straight section of said release saddle, a keeper pivotally mounted at the free end of the first said straight section of said release saddle, distally of said pivotal connection, said keeper adapted to substantially close the opening and to move freely between said release saddle and said base member in substantially the same plane as said release saddle, said release saddle being slotted to permit 360*rotation of said keeper about said pivotal connection, and a locking lug mounted on the inner side of said substantially straight portion of said base member and so configured and disposed as to limit the rotation of said keeper when the release saddle rests on said substantially straight portion of said base member and to release said keeper when said saddle is rotated away from said substantially straight portion of said base member. 